According to the FT, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have abandoned their attempt to join the World Trade Organization as a single customs union, after WTO members made clear the unprecedented suggestion would elongate the process by some years.  The trio will reportedly attempt to join simultaneously.  French retailer Carrefour has made a swift exit from Russia, only four months after the opening of its first store.  Bad news for Avtovaz: Sberbank and VTB have declined an offer to take stakes in the company in exchange for debt.  Gazprombank had its worst month of the year in September, posting losses of $529 million, the sixth time this year that the bank has posted a monthly loss.  Italy's Cremonini Group is set to open a $148 million meat-processing plant in the Moscow region to produce hamburgers for McDonalds by ...

Russian Vice Prime Minister Igor Sechin's visit to Venezuela has concentrated on energy cooperation.  Gazprombank has agreed to offer a $4 billion loan to finance the development of minerals and other raw materials in the oil-rich nation.  The governments have also agreed to create a joint venture between PDVSA- Servicios, Venezuela's state owned oilfield services subsidiary, and Gazprom's Latin American division.  Sechin will also pursue energy cooperation in Nicaragua, where, the Russian ambassador to Managua says, 'there are very good prospects for prospecting and extracting oil on the Atlantic and Pacific shelves'.  Gazprom has announced that the Bolivian deposits it is exploring with Total SA and YPFB contain 285 billion cubic meters of natural gas.  Prime Minister Putin has proposed that VEB lend Gazprombank $2.41 billion.  Turkmenistan has promised Britain gas supplies once the Nabucco ...

Soon after its first quarter 2009 earnings release, Mechel OAO (MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, entered into an agreement with a syndicate of bankers to refinance its short-term credit facilities. The company had raised a total of $2.6 billion to acquire Yakutugol Holding Company OAO and Elgaugol OAO in October 2007 and Oriel Resources Ltd. (Great Britain) in April 2008.

For acquiring Yakutia coal mines, Mechel took loans of $2 billion, which has been refinanced for $1.6 billion at LIBOR plus 6%. Earlier, the company had paid off $400 million of the loan from internal funds. Mechel will pay off the loan in equal monthly installments beginning September 2009 through December 2012.

The company has also refinanced the $1.5 billion credit obtained for acquiring the U.K.-based chrome and nickel mining and processing company, Oriel Resources Ltd. for $1 billion at LIBOR rate + 7%. Mechel has

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Mechel OAO (MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, signed a contract to supply coking coal concentrates and steam coal of various grade to companies in China, Japan and South Korea. Mechel will supply about 2 million tons of coking coal concentrates and about 2.3 million tons of steam coal of various grades to the companies (not disclosed) in 2009.The coking coal and steam coal exports will be performed by Mechel Mining OAO's subsidiary, Yakutugol OAO. The company has not provided any financial details associated these contracts.

Mechel has established itself as one of the largest producers of coking coal in the world by acquiring 100% interests in the U.S. entities Bluestone Industries, Inc. and Dynamic Energy, Inc. (both West Virginian corporations) and JCJ Coal Group, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and some of its West Virginia affiliates. These companies are engaged in the

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Total is willing to invite Gazprom to collaborate in Africa and elsewhere.  Gazprom has hit out at the EU for allegedly discriminating against its gas pipeline projects, just two days before its meeting with Ukraine to discuss payment issues.  The company may decrease its capital investment for gas production by as much as 30%.  China has offered Turkmenistan a $4 billion loan as Beijing seeks to establish a foothold in the nation's energy resources.  The two countries have signed a 30-year agreement, by which Turkmenistan will export 30% more gas to China each year, and which, according to the Guardian, will threaten Russia's 'hegemony over energy supplies from central Asia'.  Reuters examines why China has more luck securing reserves in developing countries as opposed to developed nations.  Gazprombank and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia have ...

Having initially predicted contraction of 3%, Citigroup Inc. now believes the Russian economy will shrink by at least 6.5% this year.  VEB will provide over 300 billion rubles in loans to Russian enterprise over the course of 2009.  The company will also begin to place eurobonds as of next month and may increase the issue to $10 billion.  A Siberian court has rejected a stay motion by Telenor to block the sale of its stake in Vimpelcom.  Oleg Deripaska's British van maker LDV looks may well go into administration this week, the Times reports.  Gazprombank reported a loss of $1.8 billion in 2008, the first major Russian bank to do so.  Potash producer Uralkali has announced profits of $653 million, with a 172% increase on last year.  Evraz group saw net profit decrease by ...

Mechel Steel (MTL) is a leading mining and metallurgical company in Russia, producing coal, iron ore, nickel steel, rolled steel products, and hardware. The company benefits from backward integration and focuses on growth and cost-cutting measures. Mechel has also entered into various agreements through subsidiaries to supply its rail products to large Russian metal mining companies.

However, the company is witnessing weak prices and demand across all its segments due to the slowdown in global economy. Recently, it slashed product prices by 15%.

Mechel's large capital-spending program and high debts resulting in a greater interest burden are a matter of concern. Although the company received a credit line totaling $1 billion from Gazprombank OAO to manage its short-term liabilities, we remain concerned about Mechel's remaining high debts, considering its tight cash position. These force us to rate the shares a Hold with a target of $3.00.

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strongFinancial News/strongbr /br /Jason Corcoran in Moscow br /08 December 2008 br /br /Increasing competition from new entrants and sharp falls in equity prices are driving down the margins of Russia’s sub-custody banks.br /br /The recent arrivals of Sweden’s SEB and France’s Société Générale, plus the increasing participation of Russian banks such as VTB and Gazprombank, are forcing fees downward but bringing greater segmentation and opportunities for niche providers.br /br /Natalia Sidorova, head of securities services at ING Wholesale Banking in Moscow, said: “Margins are decreasing, which is inevitable in a busy market like Russia driven by competition. Fees used to be about 20 basis points but have come down significantly in recent years.”br /br /Serhiy Berezhny, head of trust and securities services at Deutsche Bank, agreed but said high fees could still be charged depending on the volume of client assets. br /br /He said: “Different clients are ...

Business New Europe Jason Corcoran in Moscow September 25, 2008The experience of enduring Russia's last financial crisis in 1998 was burned into the psyche of Stephen Jennings when he opted on September 22 to sell half of his investment bank Renaissance Capital to billionaire oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov. Forsaking the bank's treasured independence was a tough call for its chief executive, but better than facing the prospect of teetering towards extinction as it did in 1998 when the Russian government's default reduced Renaissance to a shell and forced Jennings to slash the headcount to 190 staff, from 650. "We have a large shareholder base, a great team in place and 1,500 employees in the bank. We could have run the gauntlet and I think we would have made it, but we didn't know what was ...

Over at Russia Economy Watch Edward Hugh has posted on the Russia Economy plan where the financial ministry increased its funding provision for the Russian banking system on Sunday. )See post here)

As the article reports, the latest increase in help for Russia economy suggests that providing an additional $130 billion of liquidity to Russia’s financial markets, which are still under great pressure from recent investor drop off.

Also under the latest plan for Russia economy, the number of banks who would be entitled to the funding boost has been increased from 3 to 28. During first drafts of the plan, the funding assistance was to be restricted to only the nations’ three largest banks, VTB, Sberbank and Gazprombank. This increase in availability of funds is intended to more thoroughly reinvigorate Russia economy.

The Russian finance ministry also claimed it will provide an extra $24.21 billion in the form on credit …